Well hello there my fitness fanatics. 6 weeks of Fitness Fridays, are you feeling fit yet?
This week’s post is about cardio, or more importantly about cardio bashing. Cardiovascular activity is classed as anything which raises your heart rate, your rate of respiration and increases your sweat, whereas resistance training is literally the use of resistance (e.g. weights) in muscular contraction to increase muscle strength.
I’m sick of seeing pictures of basically a size zero arse versus Kim K’s with the caption “cardio vs weight lifting”. It’s such a blatant form of body shaming too, which I am so against.
I do believe it is true that resistance training is the best form of exercise for toning and weight loss, as it a) raises your metabolism for 24 hours after a session and b) increases your muscle mass which burns more calories when you’re at rest. What I don’t believe is that people who do cardio should get mocked and told they’re wasting their time. The last time I checked, going for a run is a lot better for you than doing a big fat nothing. I don’t think anyone should be made to feel that they can’t be proud of a workout they’ve done, whether that’s a 5 minute jog or deadlifting 100kg.
Another reason I hate cardio bashing is that, while it may not be the best exercise for weight loss, it has so many other benefits which are essential to being healthy, yet people are being scared off cardio for fear they won’t get their dream body. It’s all “oh it’s not about being skinny, it’s about being healthy, but don’t do cardio because you won’t lose weight”. Make up your mind people!
I’m currently 80% cardio, 20% weights because I’m training for a half marathon, but I feel like I can’t be happy with my progress because I’m not ‘making gainz’. Well, I’m raising money for charity and challenging my body so why should I be made to feel ashamed? And yes, I may not be losing weight or toning up as fast as those who are only focusing on resistance training but that doesn’t mean my body is not benefiting from the exercise I do.
Cardio benefits
1. Improved heart and lungs function
Cardiovascular activity is called so because it exercises the cardiovascular system, aka the lungs and heart, so while you may not see your leg muscle increasing you can be safe in the fact that your heart and lungs (which are muscles, FYI) are growing stronger, meaning you’re less likely to die of a heart attack. Now, call me weird but I think maybe that’s a tad more important than having a big bum?
2. Improved blood circulation (and lower blood pressure)
3. Stronger tendons, bones and ligaments
4. Increased confidence, decreased anxiety and depression (thanks to the endorphines released during exercise)
4. Improved quality of sleep
5. Increased perception of control (meaning you’re less likely to freak out when something happens to you, and more likely to come up with a solution. This also helps the depression and anxiety thing even more)
6. Increased energy
7. Improved blood work (lower levels of bad cholesterol, improved levels of good cholesterol = reduced chance of blood clots, heart attacks and strokes)
8. Blood sugar management (great in preventing and managing diabetes)
9. Reduced appetite (another nifty hormone release)
10. Increased efficiency at everything that requires movement (you know, walking and breathing and stuff)
11. Improved immune function
12. Improved stress management
13. Improved muscle health (thanks to the steady supply of oxygen delivered in cardio exercise)
14. Increased concentration, memory and mental focus
So please someone explain to me why people should actively avoid cardio? If it really is a lifestyle, why should we only focus on something purely because it makes us leaner?
Bottom line – we shouldn’t! Honestly, the best thing you can do for yourself is to incorporate both cardio and resistance training into your exercise routine, that way you’ll get the benefits of both. You could do this by having dedicated cardio and weights days, or you could incorporate them together, for example through circuit training.
What do you think on the whole cardio vs weights debate?
